Fishing flies are literally examples of art imitating life. In our never-ending quest to fool fish into thinking that an artificial fly is some type of food, fly fishers have invented thousands of patterns and forms using all manner of materials, including feathers, fur, foam, yarn, hair, tinsel, wire, beads, fluff, and flashy synthetics. Some fly patterns are drab, somewhat ugly imitations of a lowly bug or worm or minnow, while others are elegant, tiny sculptures of gracefu